India Program History

“The first hand experiences we gained from this trip are incredible and go far beond anything we could have learned from a reading or in class.” Susan Campbell, MSHRM 2008

In 1974, Venu Srinivasan arrived at Purdue to pursue a Master’s degree at the Krannert School of Management. An ambassador family assigned to him, with whom he still keeps in touch, introduced him to American culture. This exposure continued with an internship selling Bibles in North Carolina.

His experiences convinced him that it was important to introduce students to other cultures. Given the rising importance of India on the global economic stage, he worked with the Dauch Center for Management of Manufacturing Enterprise and the Global Supply Chain Management Initiative to provide a select number of students the chance to add to their resume while learning about doing business in India.

This program, which operates on a year-to-year basis, allows up to 15 students the chance to work on real-world problems at TVS Motor Company in Bangalore, India. As chairman and managing director, Srinivasan covers the costs of lodging, food, and transportation to and from the TVS campus.

”Four cycles of TVS and Purdue University Global Internship Program have helped TVS to formulate ‘live problems’ that are both challenging and demanding for business school students with support from faculty. This has enabled the students to develop a close working relationship with TVS managers, leading to innovative solutions to address the problems. Given our successful experience, TVS will be able to leverage the potential of this internship initiative not only for the advantage of the students of Purdue University but also to serve as a benchmark for other internship programs in the country in the coming years. “ Venu Srinivasan, Chairman and Managing Director, TVS Motor Company Limited.